Electric household appliances, especially dishwashers or an electric baking oven, pose a hazard for children which should not be underestimated. Children at play can accidentally or intentionally open the door of an electric household appliance and thereby expose themselves to a considerable risk of injury. In dishwashers this arises, for example, from pointed sharp objects such as knives since children can thereby incur cutting wounds. In baking ovens there is a considerable risk of injury as a result of the high temperatures. For this reason, mechanical devices which prevent any unintentional or undesired opening of the door of an electric household appliance are already available as child-safety features.
Known from DE 195 04 928 A1 is a door lock for a dishwasher for whose actuation an unlocking flap is mounted pivotally about a pivot axis in a handle recess and is provided with a locking stop arrangement which prevents any pivoting of the unlocking flap in a locking home position. Moulded on the pivot axis of the unlocking flap is a radially directed locking lug which engages axially in a matched stop in a bearing wall of the handle shell. A disadvantage here is that as a result of the complex structure, the child safety feature is expensive and liable to breakdown and the operating comfort for the user of the dishwasher is only low.
Known from DE 198 37 248 C2 is a door lock for the door of an electric household appliance comprising a frame with an opening for a hook, a closing member such as a closing lever, in the frame, a closing spring disposed between the closing member and a counter-bearing in the frame, said closing member being connected to a gripping device. In this case, the closing spring is tensioned in an open position of the door lock and the gripping device is pressed against a part of the frame or in the frame by the closing spring at a contact point in the open position of the door lock, thus preventing the release of the spring. The gripping device has a gripping latch into which a hook is guided on passing through the opening in the frame. The incoming hook presses on a contact surface of the gripping device and thereby causes a movement of the gripping device. The gripping device is shaped so that it loses contact with the contact point during a movement of the hook and the closing spring can thereby be released. The opening of the closed door by forces from inside or outside can only be prevented by a lock which releases the closing member during opening by means of an opening lever. This door lock disadvantageously therefore does not have a child safety feature which prevent undesired opening of the door.